Best Batman of All Time Takes On Apocalypse, Supergirl

When Wired.com crowdsourced the voting for best Batman of all time, the majority ruled for Kevin Conroy’s animated Dark Knight. But Conroy and Tim Daly’s veteran Superman are going to need to get their buddy-cop routine straight for Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.

“Batman thinks of Superman as the Dudley Do-Right of superheroes,” Conroy said in a press release about the upcoming animated movie. “He admires his strength and character, but also thinks he’s incredibly naive and unsophisticated about the world.”

Kevin Conroy's Dark Knight is the top technocultural dog in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, out Sept. 28.

Conroy, who studied at Juilliard with Robin Williams, blows Gotham’s candles on two decades as the Dark Knight next year: His voiceover reign commenced in 1991 with Batman: The Animated Series. Until someone suitably reboots Superman on the silver screen — no pressure! — Daly is next in line for best onscreen hero ever. His tour-of-duty with the Man of Steel began a few years after Conroy with 1996’s underrated Superman: The Animated Adventures.

Whether Superman’s cousin can shine in director Lauren Montgomery’s adaptation of Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald’s graphic novel Superman/Batman: Supergirl won’t be a settled matter until the film lands. What is settled is Conroy’s legend.

Even those without televisions of their own know the Dark Knight when they see him, as Conroy humorously explained in the release:

A number of years ago, I was in the Hollywood post office parking lot. I left everything in the car, because I was just going straight to the mail drop with the envelope. This guy, who was sitting on the curb, obviously homeless, says to me, “Hey, buddy, have you got a quarter?” And I said, “I’m so sorry. I literally don’t. I have nothing.” He said, “You’re Kevin Conroy!” I got really nervous — you just assume that your job is anonymous working on animation, so I asked him how he knew that and he said, “Oh, everybody knows who’s Batman.” I said, “No, believe me, everyone doesn’t know who’s Batman.” He said, “Oh, please — please — please — please do the voice.” He said, “Just say it … I am vengeance.” He knew the lines. I said, “I am vengeance.” He said, “Oh, my God. Batman’s here! Batman’s here!” He said, “Say it: I am the night.” I said, “I am the night.” He said, “Go! Go! Finish! Finish!” And I said “I am Batman!” So the two of us are there screaming “I am Batman!” in the parking lot, and he started clapping and clapping, yelling, “I can’t believe I have Batman in the parking lot.”

He went on to explain to me that all television monitors at the Circuit City on Hollywood Boulevard showed Batman every day, and he would stand outside and watch the show. So I said, “Wait, just a second,” and I went running back to the car for some cash. He said, “Oh, I can’t take Batman’s money.” I told him he was going to take Batman’s money so he wouldn’t tell anyone that Batman is cheap (he laughs). That whole scene was wild.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse arrives Sept. 28. See a clip from the movie below.